The present disclosure relates to an IC chip, an information processing apparatus, a software module control method, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. More particularly, the invention relates to an IC chip, an information processing apparatus, a software module control method, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program for allowing a plurality of software modules to ensure their respective security when operating.
This applicant proposed previously a communication system for a noncontact IC card operating on a plurality of principles involving different specifications regarding command systems, security algorithms and others (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-264921).
According to the above proposal, a command exchanged with an IC card and the result of a response to that command are enveloped in a command called a through command that is independent of the IC card type. The process involved is performed not by a reader/writer but by a controller module disposed downstream of the reader/writer. The controller module has software modules for dealing with IC cards operating on the different principles.
However, although the previously proposed communication system handles noncontact IC cards operating on a plurality of different principles using a single reader/writer, the communication system is not designed to address a single noncontact IC cards operating on a plurality of different principles.